UNDERGRADUATE INFORMATION BROCHURE 2017

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR DISCIPLINES
Animation
Animation is an integral part of the moving
image and is found in film-making, special
effects, game design, graphic design and the
scientific imaging industries. It helps make
the unimaginable, imaginable. Explore your
creativity in the area of animation, looking at
different techniques ranging from the drawn
graphic to the virtual 3D and motion capture
and understand how to use them to your
advantage in creating moving images.
Develop a range of skills and expertise suited
to careers in the creative arts, entertainment
industry, education, visualisation and any role
that involves making creative choices, team
work and communicating ideas visually.
Graduates can be found working in advertising
agencies, film production companies, the
games industry, marketing consultancies,
multimedia businesses, television corporations
and web development companies.
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of human beings as
they exist today in all their amazing difference
and diversity. In this, it is the only truly global
science, and the only science that introduces
you to the full complexity and wonder of the
exotic age in which we live.
In a rapidly changing and globalising world,
anthropology is the science to give you the
edge. Most other subjects you will take in
university will only be able to provide you with
university knowledge and skills limited to this
society and culture - the society you live in, the
city you grew up in, the people you’ve always
known. But today this is no longer enough.
Life and work in the 21st Century requires a
whole new perspective - a worldly perspective.
The science of anthropology breaks you out
of the jail that is your own culturally and
socially limited experience and introduces
you to fascinating cultures and societies way
beyond anything you have previously known
or imagined. There is a strong emphasis in
anthropology on empirical and practical realworld
knowledge - this will involve study and
internships in foreign cultures and work all
over the globe.
If you’d like to travel…if you’d like to embark on a lifechanging
journey…if you’d like to see the world as
you’ve never seen it before…if you’d like to broaden
your experience of other human beings and learn
about peoples and places and practices so unusual
and strange that your world-view will be forever
transformed…if you have a passion for the strange,
the shocking and the mysterious…if you want to
be exposed to the myriad of diverse and different
excitements that this world has to offer…if you’re
fascinated by magic, sorcery, witchcraft, languages,
customs, different economies, different political
systems, different cultures, amazing rituals and
religious beliefs, exotic sexual practices, wild men and
women, new technologies, alternative ways of living...
then anthropology is for you.
Anthropology will give you the skills for just about
any job in the emerging global work-force. In a highly
competitive jobs market, anthropology gives you
a higher level of understanding, a unique quality
and an edge on other job applicants. You will find
anthropologists working in all areas of contemporary
life - in mining and mineral exploration helping
companies work with local populations; in film and
television; as researchers, producers and writers; in the
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade;
in the United Nations; in all areas of government and
policy preparation; in public health; in food sciences;
in humanitarian agencies and NGO’s worldwide; in
corporate research and development - the list goes on.
A major in anthropology will combine very well with
languages, criminology and sociology. Many students
combine a major in anthropology with a Bachelor of
International Studies.
Arabic
The Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa
form an area of critical global importance having broad
strategic, economic, religious and cultural influence.
The Middle East comprises the fourth largest trading
block among Australia’s overseas trading partners, with
the total value of Australia’s trade with the Middle
East more than doubling in the last decade. Develop
communication skills in modern standard Arabic and
enhance your language fluency through contextual
knowledge of Middle Eastern history, culture and
society. Students taking Arabic are encouraged to take
complementary units in the relevant area studies in
order to obtain sound background knowledge of the
cultural, geopolitical and historical issues relevant to
the regions where Arabic is spoken.
Deakin Arabic is a national award winning program with
emphasis on communicative competence and innovative
teaching methodologies. Its distinguishing characteristics
lie in the areas of powerful partnerships and innovative
blended learning approaches supporting student
experiential learning. The online learning experience is
totally interactive, providing participating students with
immediate feedback on their work.
Australian studies
“Knowing Australia today by knowing our pasts”.
Australian studies brings together history, geography,
Politics, gender studies and cultural studies for a
unique interdisciplinary examination of Australia in its
contemporary, historical and global contexts. In the
process, it develops a core set of Arts degree knowledge
and disciplinary skills in units that are a synthesis of its
component disciplines and subjects of study, especially
in relation to land (AIA105), Gender Studies (AIA106);
Indigenous Australia (AIA200) and Australia and Asia
(AIA300). Australian Studies can be taken with other
degrees such as Law, Science and Education. Australian
Studies offers analysis of debates, ideas, values and
issues that situate scholarship and workplace roles in
national and international contexts. This is critical for
students who will seek employment in a globalising
workforce.
There is strong student interest in Australian studies –
around 1000 students take the first year units. Students
are drawn from across the Faculty of Arts and Education
as well as other faculties; units are also popular with
international and exchange students. Many students
utilise what they learn in primary and secondary
teaching. Australian studies is also the foundation
stone on which to build a career in journalism and the
media; law, commerce and business; tourism; cultural
institutions; public service; government organisations;
social welfare, including community development in
Australia and overseas; and libraries and information
management.
Australian Studies staff are leaders in their fields.
They publish in high impact national and international
journals, collaborate with Australian and international
scholars, contribute to current affairs in outlets such
as The Conversation, and win competitive research
grants and prizes for their research. One staff member
was awarded the Australian Geographers’ Australia-
International Medal in 2012, while another was
appointed the inaugural BHP Billiton Chair in Australian
Studies at Peking University in 2013.
A major in Australian studies will combine well with
languages, history, politics, anthropology and sociology.
Children’s literature
Deakin is a world leader in children’s and young people’s
literature and has developed a full major in the Bachelor
of Arts in this growing field. Discover major trends in
children’s texts across a range of media, and how stories
for young people reflect and challenge the values of
their time. This study area caters to students who are
interested in children’s literature as a prominent domain
of literary production and is of particular relevance
to those who intend to work with children and young
people as primary or secondary teachers and librarians,
and those who wish to produce texts for young people.
Chinese
China is Australia’s biggest trading partner and Standard
Chinese, commonly known as Mandarin Chinese, is a
major language of the world. It is the official language
in the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan and Singapore
and widely used in community groups in Hong Kong,
South-East Asia, North America and Australia. Chinese
is also one of the five official languages of the United
Nations.
The Chinese language program at Deakin offers students
the opportunity to attain proficiency in spoken and
written Chinese and provides an understanding of the
Chinese culture and ways of life. Students studying
Chinese are encouraged to select complementary units
related to China and Asia in international relations,
Australian studies, history, language and culture studies.
Mandarin Chinese is the most widely-spoken language
in the world. By learning to speak Mandarin, you can
communicate with millions of Chinese–speaking people
around the world. As a continuing ancient civilisation,
Chinese culture is boundlessly fascinating. A knowledge
of Mandarin will help you gain a deeper understanding
of the Chinese culture. As China is rising, it is starting to
play a major role in the world.
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